


broad horizon

by willurosinmybow



Series: fall for you [1]
Category: Twosetviolin, Video Blogging RPF, twoset violin
Genre: Coming Out, Ex Sex, Gay Panic, Internalized Homophobia, Jealousy, Lovers to Friends, M/M, Musicians, Past Relationship(s), Revelations, Secret Crush, Secret Relationship, Violins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:27:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24221305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/willurosinmybow/pseuds/willurosinmybow
Summary: An old university friend of Brett’s comes to visit. Eddy learns new things about Brett that he didn’t expect. Brett learns things about Eddy that he didn’t expect. Neither of them handles it well.
Relationships: Breddy - Relationship, Brett Yang/Original Male Character(s), Eddy Chen/Brett Yang
Series: fall for you [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1748296
Comments: 8
Kudos: 87





	broad horizon

**Author's Note:**

> _broad horizon as i walk from your embrace / what i feel is nothing but the taste of you / i get buried in your mouth / i fall in, i don't care if i can't climb out_  
>  \- fall for you, the whitlams
> 
> this version is different than the one on wattpad, especially at the end. i initially wrote this all in one go and i wasn't 100% satisfied with it but also if i didn't post it then it probably wouldn't have been posted ever. anyway, now that i've had time and space to reflect on this, here's a different and just as unsatisfying ending. however, i'm actively writing a sequel now!
> 
> originally written 10/6/2019

They're done filming. Eddy turns off the camera and looks over to Brett, who's putting his violin away. "That went well," he says. 

"For once," Brett laughs. "Yeah, actually though. Got the weekend off, woo!"

Eddy grins. They had tentative plans to shoot the last video on Sunday if they couldn't get to it today, but this time everything went smoothly and they finished in record time. "Wanna have dinner tomorrow?" he says impulsively, even though, you know, the whole point of having time off is to not hang out with Brett 24/7.

Brett shakes his head. "Can't. Friend from uni is visiting, I'm picking him up from the airport."

"Oh?" Eddy says.

"Daniel. He lives in Melbourne now," Brett explains like this means anything to Eddy. He's done packing up, he straightens up, case in hand. "I'll see you Monday."

"Yeah, see you," Eddy says. 

Who's Daniel? And if Brett knew him from uni, then why is this the first time Eddy has ever heard of him before? The more Eddy thinks about it, the more it bugs him - not just the fact that Brett apparently has a mystery friend, but also the fast, too-casual way he was talking, like he's trying to be evasive without seeming like it. Maybe Eddy is reading too much into it. Maybe he's crazy for thinking so much about it. But by bedtime, his curiosity is fully aflame, and he can't sleep, wracking his mind for explanations.

*

Brett's heart pounds alarmingly in his chest as he waits for Daniel at arrivals. He's not quite sure what to expect. Daniel texted him out of the blue a couple weeks ago, that he was planning on visiting and was Brett free to hang out? A couple texts later, and Brett offered his guest room and a ride from the airport, so here he is now. The last time they really talked was a couple weeks before graduation, and Daniel doesn't even have a facebook or instagram, so who knows, he could have totally changed -

\- or not. There he is, striding out of the crowd, and maybe his walk has a little more confidence, and Brett's memory must be going because he's a little taller than Brett remembers, but he looks almost identical to the boy Brett went to school with - same light brown hair, short and messy, same wire-frame glasses, same beaming smile. 

"Brett," Daniel says once he's in earshot, and then he's two steps within hugging distance. Brett meets him halfway and grins into his shoulder. Daniel really does give the best hugs. 

"Did you get dinner? Are you hungry?" Brett asks.

"Yes, and yes," Daniel says. 

Brett laughs. "Are you sure you're not secretly still growing?" he says, pretending to look Daniel over suspiciously. 

"I swear to god I stopped growing when I was 17," Daniel protests, as he always did. 

"Yeah, that's what you say, but how else do you eat so much and stay so skinny," Brett grouses. And just like that, it's like they never left off.

*

E: u took my bow :(((

B: fuck  
B: are you serious  
B: sorry :((((((((  
B: no idea how i messed that up

E: i can swing by tomorrow morning to trade?  
E: i'd wait till monday but i was actually looking forward to practising  
E: lol

B: lol  
B: yeah come by in the morning  
B: soz

E: no worries :)

*

"Sorry," Brett says, throwing his phone down onto the table and turning his attention back to Daniel. "I'm done now. Aagh, I'm such an idiot."

"What is it?"

"I accidentally stole Eddy's bow," Brett says, waving his hand in a way that he hopes conveys the gravity of the situation without having to put it into words. They're drinking but he's not drunk, not really. He's just full and warm and lazy. 

Daniel bursts out laughing, and Brett watches him, bemused. "Do you remember - " Daniel gasps out between laughs. "Do you remember that time you started ranting about musician etiquette and how you should never touch another man's bow without permission."

"No," Brett groans, although he vaguely does. He was definitely drunk then, he remembers that. And they spent that one summer hanging out almost exclusively... Brett said a lot of things back then. He just didn't count on Daniel remembering them and mocking him about them years later. Although he probably deserves it. He covers his eyes with his arm, bracing himself for more cringe memories of his teenage self, but... nothing. He peeks out at Daniel, who's still grinning. Once he's certain Daniel's not going to say anything more, he stops hiding and flings his arm over the back of the couch, brushing up against Daniel's shoulder. He's literally within arm's reach. 

"Are you - " Brett starts, and then stops and clears his throat. "Are you seeing anyone?"

Daniel shrugs, sharp shoulders raising eloquently. "Nah." He looks down, then back at Brett. He has a way at looking at a person that makes Brett feel - captured. "I've kind of... stopped looking, to be honest. Nothing ever felt right, and it felt like a waste of time. I'm just trying to focus on other things right now."

Brett nods. "Makes sense."

"You?"

"Same." Brett laughs. "I've been so busy."

Daniel is smiling too, but his eyes are deadly serious. "We could - "

Brett sways forward, instinctively, and Daniel's breath catches, his throat clicking as he swallows. 

"It's... it's probably a bad idea," Brett says, but he doesn't look away. His heart is fluttering like it had back then, when they started hanging out for real. Something akin to panic, a stutter-stop that left him breathless, unsure whether to stay or run away.

"It doesn't have to mean anything," Daniel says, exactly like he had back then as well. "We're just friends, yeah?"

"Yeah," Brett echoes, and he leans in.

*

Eddy stops by on the earlier side of morning (for him) so he doesn't disrupt Brett's plans too much. He's not entirely awake, to be honest. At least, not until Brett answers the door, and he's so annoyingly cheerful and exuberant that even Eddy notices. They swap bows, and Eddy's about to make a joke like did Brett finally get laid or something, when a guy wanders out into the lounge.

"Oh hey. Eddy, this is Daniel," Brett says, waving between them. Eddy figures. He's not what Eddy expected. He's tall, skinny, messy hair and nerd glasses. He's also disturbingly good-looking, not so much classically handsome as straight-up pretty. Eddy _definitely_ would have remembered if they'd met. 

"Hey," Eddy nods, and then turns to close his case. That's when he notices it, the red bruise on the side of Brett's neck. The right side of his neck, not even potentially violin-related. Eddy makes a show of carefully closing up his case, a rush of blood in his ears as he tries to process this with his sleep-deprived brain. 

"Eddy?" Brett says, and Eddy realises he's waiting for an answer, has already said Eddy's name with no response. 

"Sorry, what?" Eddy says, shaking his head. 

Brett smirks at him. "We were going to get brunch, do you want to join us?"

Eddy looks at Brett, then at Daniel, who gives him a small smile that makes him look dreamy and even prettier. Eddy is pretty sure that he hates Daniel. He shrugs and forces a smile onto his own face. "Sure."

*

Brunch is delicious and... awkward. Brett forgets how shy Daniel really is, especially around new people - it's different when it's just the two of them. And Eddy, who can usually be relied on to keep the conversation  
going, is sleepy and sullen, at least until he hits his second cup of coffee.

"So, Daniel. How did you and Brett meet? You weren't a music major, were you?"

Daniel shakes his head, swallowing a bite of his pancakes. "No, English. We met at the library - I was there day and night working on my thesis, and Brett was the only other student there past 10 pm..."

Brett had also been writing his honours thesis at the time, and Daniel is the only clear memory he has left of it all. At first he was just a boy that Brett kept noticing because he was always there. When the pages and pages of reading blurred together into one giant blob, he'd look up and wonder if the skinny kid bent over an even larger pile of books hated his life too, or if he loved it (a bit of both). Then the boy started looking back. It progressed to nods of recognition when arriving and leaving, to making excuses to stop by each other's desks for quick conversation, to sitting at the same table. The only reason they got any work done was that they had to, otherwise Brett would happily slack off and talk about music and art and philosophy all day with Daniel.

Then one day Daniel discovered that Brett didn't understand basically _any_ of his musical references. "Come over and I'll play them for you," he told Brett. Brett thought he meant off of a cd or something (Daniel was weirdly old-school like that). But instead he had a guitar. And a voice. 

And not exactly... but pretty much exactly like that, Brett became the biggest cliche and fell for the guy with the guitar. 

"Can you believe this guy doesn't know any rock songs?" Daniel is saying, and great, now he and Eddy can bond over Brett's complete lack of knowledge of non-classical music. Brett groans but he's secretly grinning inside.

Their relationship started with a kiss and a lie. "It doesn't have to mean anything," Daniel said, and Brett was both freaking out and cognisant enough to realise that wasn't true, but it was enough of a comfort that he didn't just bolt. By the time Daniel asked him to be his boyfriend, Brett was over his gay panic enough to actually say yes, if hesitantly. 

It lasted three months. Three months and Daniel was tired of being a secret. "Look," he said, "you don't have to tell people we're dating. But at least treat me like a friend. I came to your fucking recital and you ignored me."

"I'm sorry," Brett said, but of course it wasn't enough. 

"Introduce me to someone else in your life. Anyone. Someone safe, someone you trust."

The obvious thought was Eddy, but even the idea of him and Daniel meeting had Brett's throat closing up in panic. "I can't, I'm sorry. I can't."

"I can't do this. I actually love you, Brett, but we can't do this any more."

Now, looking at Eddy and Daniel together, Brett kicks himself for being an idiot all those past years. It wasn't so hard after all. Why had he been so scared?

*

Brett arrives at Eddy's house just as cheerful on Monday as he was the day before, and they shoot some very smiley videos. Brett's good mood usually rubs off on Eddy, but Eddy can't stop thinking about the _reason_ for Brett's good mood and feeling more and more... pissed off? Hurt? An unhealthy and unreasonable combination of the two.

It isn't like Brett owes it to him to tell him anything and everything. It's fine. Eddy just needs to let this go. He focusses on forgetting about Daniel so completely that by the time they're done filming, Eddy finds himself saying, "Do you want to - never mind."

"What?" Brett says, tilting his head. Eddy's eyes drift to his neck... the red mark is almost completely faded, just a hint of it left. 

"I was gonna ask if you wanted to play Smash, but you probably want to go hang out with Daniel or whatever."

"Nah, actually. He's seeing some other friends today."

"He has other friends?" Eddy says, and kicks himself even before Brett gives him a _look_. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that," Eddy backtracks quickly, even though he did actually. "He's just... so quiet."

"Yeah, I kinda forgot how shy he is," Brett says, dropping off his violin case and bag at the front door. Eddy follows him into the lounge and grabs the Wii controllers. 

"Is that why I've never heard of him before?" Eddy says as casually as he can, handing Brett one of the controllers. 

He watches Brett freeze and tense up, shake his head and then immediately regret it. "I was being selfish, I admit," Brett says, and Eddy's breath catches. "I just wanted to hang out with someone who wasn't stressed by con life like the rest of us were."

Eddy forces himself to breathe again. "Makes sense, I guess," he says, and starts up the game.

*

Something about Eddy seems off, although Brett can't say what exactly. He just knows that he can gauge Eddy's mood instinctively, and it's... weird. He was thinking maybe Eddy had asked him to stay after filming because he wanted to talk about something, but they really did just play Smash and Mario Kart. Eddy gets like that sometimes though, broody and introspective for no real reason that Brett can tell. Maybe just one of those times, then.

After he leaves Eddy's, he does a bunch of chores - buys some breakfast foods at the groceries, gets take out for dinner, tidies up his house. He's done practising but still noodling around when Daniel gets back from dinner with his old classmates.

"Don't stop on my account," Daniel says, looking at the violin in Brett's hands.

Brett shrugs and starts unwinding his bow, loosening the hair. "I was done, anyway," he says. He really never played in front of Daniel - he'd rather listen to Daniel's music instead. He wasn't exactly lying about the reason he kept Daniel apart from the rest of his life... he really was Brett's sanctuary from conservatory life. "How was dinner?"

"Good, good. We walked around a bit too... nice to know Brisbane hasn't changed that much. Forgot how much I missed it here."

"You could always move back?" Brett says, although he's not serious. Not entirely. Daniel's family is in Victoria, it only made sense that he moved back down there after uni. He puts his violin away and closes the case, turns to where Daniel is standing right behind him. 

Daniel kisses him. His mouth is warm and friendly, and Brett chases the taste of wine from Daniel's lips. The kiss turns hungry fast, Brett's up until now touch-deprived body lighting up at even the hint of more to come. He wraps his hands around the back of Daniel's neck and pulls him closer. Fuck. Maybe he is serious after all.

Finally, they pull apart, breathing hard. Daniel's hand is resting on Brett's hipbone, underneath the waistband of his shorts, and it's driving Brett crazy. 

"I'd - I'd consider it," Daniel says, to Brett's great surprise. "If you wanted me to. If you _really_ wanted."

Brett swallows hard. He wants to lean in and kiss Daniel again, and forget about this conversation entirely. He wants to say yes, yes to Daniel moving here, yes to being boyfriends, yes to falling in love, and fuck everything else. But he's trying to be a responsible adult here, and that means not lying - to Daniel, and especially not to himself. "I don't think that would be fair to you."

Daniel nods, moves past Brett to the couch. 

"Do you want a drink or anything?" Brett offers, grasping at straws. 

"Nah. Come sit with me."

Brett considers him, the long expanse of the couch, and chooses to curl up right next to Daniel. Daniel slings his arm around him, and this is nice too, this casual cuddling. He really did miss Daniel. Even after the way they ended... he's still the nicest boy Brett knows.

"You've grown up some since I've seen you last," Daniel says eventually. "It shouldn't surprise me but it does."

Brett laughs a little. "I was just thinking you seemed exactly the same. But you were the mature one."

Daniel rolls his eyes. "I guess. Look where that got me... instead I could have run off and been irresponsible and had a crazy youtube career or whatever... "

Brett laughs a lot then. "I can't think of anything you'd hate more, so it's a good thing you didn't."

"That's true." Daniel falls into musing, and Brett wishes he has a guitar handy, wants to learn what new music Daniel loves now. Maybe he'll borrow one off someone tomorrow.

"You could play some of your weird newfangled music for me now if you'd like," Brett says, just to make Daniel laugh. 

"All right, I'll start off with something easy for you, grandpa," Daniel says, and laughs as he fends off the pillow that Brett thwacks at him in faux outrage. He pulls up iTunes on his phone and taps on a song. 

"What do you think about Eddy?" Brett asks sometime later, after they listen to a song called "I make hamburgers" and Daniel finishes telling Brett the entire history of the band, which he should already know apparently because he's Australian and they're Australian and whatever...

"He's, um." Daniel hesitates and Brett is suddenly curious, because once Daniel gets over his initial shyness, he usually doesn't have a problem telling you what he thinks. 

"Do you not like him? I mean, it's ok if you don't - " Brett says, brow furrowing. 

"It's not that," Daniel says, shaking his head. "He just seemed... jealous."

"What?" Wait, what? Why? How? "How do you figure?"

"From the way he was glaring daggers at me during brunch."

"That's... weird." Brett watches Daniel's face as thoughts pass over them. Recognises that expression, although he's questioning everything he knows about reading body language right now. "You're thinking something that you don't want to say right now."

Daniel smiles wryly. "It's not that I don't want to say it. I don't think you want to hear it."

"Try me, and I'll tell you if you're right or not."

Daniel sighs.

*

The next time they film, Brett's back to his normal self, on the edge of tired and stressed, his posture hunched, a bit guarded. Eddy can't stop the guilty sense of glee that surges through him, quickly followed by a sudden rush of fury. Did Daniel do something to him? Hurt him in any way? Is he even still here or did he leave already?

As crazy as Eddy knows he's being right now, he knows he's not imagining this _thing_ between Brett and Daniel. Maybe it was just a casual thing back then that they picked up again, temporarily. But if that were the case, then why is Brett so downtrodden? Brett tries to hide it, but at his core, he's a romantic. Did Daniel come up here just to break his heart all over again?

The worst part is that Eddy can't stop thinking about them together. Does Brett like tall boys? Does he like being pinned to the bed and being bitten? Eddy can't picture it, really, until he suddenly can, Daniel pushing him into the bed, Brett letting himself fall, eyes wide and dazed.

"Bro," Brett is saying, and Eddy runs his hand over his face. "You ok?"

"Yeah," Eddy says. "Are you?"

"Yeah?" Brett answers, like "why are you asking?" "You were spacing out hardcore there."

"Sorry," Eddy says, fighting a blush down. Trying to focus on the task at hand. Not analyse everything he ever thought he knew about Brett and turned out he didn't. "Sorry."

*

"Think about it, hey?" Daniel says as he hugs Brett goodbye at the airport. So on the way home, Brett thinks about it, what they talked about a couple of nights ago. Even if he didn't want to, he can't stop himself from thinking about it.

"I think he has a giant crush on you."

and

"I think he's figured out... about us, somehow. Sorry. I guess you were right, about not being able to introduce me to other people and not have them know."

The idea of Eddy having a giant crush on him is just... baffling. There's no way. Brett would know, right? After all he knows Eddy, and Daniel doesn't. 

But he agrees about the second. It explains why Eddy's being so weird, and it's exactly the reason why Brett never wanted to tell anyone about Daniel in the first place. No, that's not exactly right. When he was in uni, it was because he was scared as shit. Now, he's not scared, not really. But he finds it galling that Eddy, of all people, is doing this to him. Acting like he's... different, all of the sudden, for something that's already happened 7 years ago.

Brett can try to ignore it, and it'll probably go away, eventually. Or... he can be a grown up about it? Probably....?

*

"Hey, are we alright?" Brett says at the end of their business meeting aka 'yell snarky things and reply to emails' meeting.

"Yeah, of course," Eddy says, and then sighs. He knows he's off his game, Brett can tell he's off, and Eddy can't even begin to explain. "Look," he says, hoping to throw Brett off his tracks. I'm just going through some stuff right now, it doesn't have anything to do with you," and then he winces, because why did he say it like that. "Or TwoSet," he adds. Digging himself deeper with every word. 

"Ok. So it's a coincidence that you started acting weird after I introduced you to my ex-boyfriend?"

"No," Eddy protests, a jolt of adrenaline surging through him when Brett confirmed what he'd been wondering all along. "I mean, yes. Although I think it's incredibly weird that this is the first time I've ever heard of him."

"I didn't tell anyone about him because I didn't want anyone to stare at me like I'm a completely different person, like you are now," Brett says flatly. 

"I wouldn't be looking at you like you're a different person if you had told - " Eddy stood, catching his breath. "You know, this is a circular argument."

"You're right, this is pointless," Brett says, and moves past Eddy. "I'm leaving."

Eddy grabs his wrist and they both freeze. Eddy thinks he might be holding on too tightly, his blunt nails digging into the underside of Brett's arm, but he can't make himself let go. Brett's eyes are wide, and a little scared, like he's actually afraid of Eddy, and that's what makes Eddy let go, stumbling back. "I'm sorry," he says, horrified at himself. "I'm so, so sorry. I don't, I didn't mean - I'm a piece of shit, I don't know why you put up with me."

"Jesus, Eddy," Brett says, stepping closer exactly when Eddy wants him to leave, actually. "Are you crying? Don't cry." His voice is concerned, far more gentle than Eddy deserves.

"I'm not crying," Eddy lies through his teeth, and sits down at the table, staring fixedly at the patterned tablecloth until it blurs in his vision.

"Eddy," Brett says helplessly.

*

"Hey," Brett says into the phone when he hears Daniel's sleep-mussed voice on the other end of the line. "Sorry, did I wake you?" It's only 9pm, but Daniel has a job where he actually has to wake up early in the morning, and now Brett feels kind of bad.

"Yeah, but I shouldn't have been sleeping anyway, so thanks," Daniel says. "I don't know why jet lag is a thing when I haven't even changed time zones."

"Yeah," Brett says. "It's just tiring, I guess."

Daniel hums. "Everyone else just looks at me like I'm crazy when I try to explain that, but you get me," he says. "Anyway, what's up?"

"Just... thinking," Brett says, and then realises that can be misinterpreted in a number of different ways. "I mean, about Eddy. I mean, why does he have to be so - why is he making this so difficult? Why does this have to be so complicated. Argh!"

Daniel laughs a little, gently. "Do you want to talk about it? I mean, apart from satisfying my own sordid curiosity... maybe it'll help to talk it out."

"Not really," Brett whines. "I just want to stop being, like, a responsible adult and run away from all my problems. Can I do that?"

"I mean, you can," Daniel says, and Brett rolls his eyes in response to that, even though Daniel doesn't have the benefit of seeing it. "Should you? Probably not."

"Yeah, probably not," Brett sighs. 

"There is room at my place anytime if you wanted to come down to Melbourne though," Daniel says.

"You joke about that but I'm of a mind to start looking up tickets right now," Brett says. 

"I'm not joking," Daniel says. "And I'd love to see you again. And also I want to hear about Eddy, so... "

"You know what, never mind. I'm looking up tickets to the Caribbean instead. I'm just going to live on a desert island with my violin for the rest of my life. You and Eddy and the rest of the world can go on yourselves."

"Mmm, that's always been your dream," Daniel says. "You haven't changed so much, then."

Brett sits straight up in indignation. "What? When did I ever say that in university?"

"Well, not a desert island specifically. But you always wanted, I mean, I always got the impression that you wanted to be so in love with the violin that you never needed or wanted anything else. You know?"

"What?" Brett says, feeling suddenly, unaccountably pissed off. "I'm a musician, that's what we do, we practice - "

"I'm not talking about that. Obviously if you want to be a good musician you have to have dedication to your craft. But you - you tried to drown yourself in the hours you spent practising. Like you'd become less gay if you became good enough at the violin."

"What the fuck," Brett says, adrenaline still running high. He's not pissed off anymore, just - exhausted. Completely exhausted. Like, he wasn't expecting to revisit their breakup from years ago when he initially called. 

"Sorry," Daniel says. "For the record, I don't think that's what you're doing now."

"Right," Brett says. "You know, you're right. I want to."

"I know," Daniel says gently. "But you're a lot braver now than you were back then. Just remember that, please."

*

"Sorry," Eddy types into his phone, and then deletes it. Frowns. Stares down at the blank message box, the cursor blinking at him ominously. Above there's the last stupid text conversation they had about a crazy video idea that they're never going to actually do, but it was funny to discuss anyway. Eddy doesn't even know where to start.

> please don't hate me. but if u do i understand

No, too desperate. Delete.

> i'm not judging u. i'm judging me. 

Delete. 

> ur still the same to me

Untrue. Delete. 

> i'm just panicking that ur going to move to melbourne suddenly to be with ur super hot boyfriend, i mean is he really ur ex when he bites u like THAT and i see how u look at him, i have not seen u look at literally anyone like that EVER and i've known u for a long time bro trust me i'd have noticed i'd have given anything for you to look at me

Fuck, what is wrong with him. Eddy closes his eyes and throws his phone down in disgust, not noticing as his thumb brushes the send button as he lets go.


End file.
